Justin Fields Lining up for Week 3 start

Published: 2024-09-17 09:18:28

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he's preparing for Fields to make a third straight start Sunday against the Chargers, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports. "We're readying ourselves around Justin. We'll stay in that mindset until something happens. Hypotheticals are a waste of time," Tomlin said.

Russell Wilson was named the Steelers' starter coming out of the preseason, but he's been inactive for the first two weeks of the regular season after reporting calf tightness following a Sept. 5 practice. Per Missi Matthews of the Steelers' official site, Tomlin suggested that Wilson is in a holding pattern in his recovery from the injury and isn't scheduled to be a full participant for Wednesday's practice, so Pittsburgh will continue to go with Fields under center. The Steelers are off to a 2-0 start to the season largely on the back of a stifling defense and a run-first offense, but Fields has been an effective game manager thus far, committing no turnovers while completing 30 of 43 pass attempts for 273 yards (6.3 YPA) and one touchdown and presenting a threat as a runner (22 carries for 84 yards). The matchup with the unbeaten Chargers will represent perhaps Fields' toughest test yet, but if he can help lead Pittsburgh to another win, he'll have a good chance at retaining the starting job even if Wilson is back to full speed by Week 4.

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